Chapter 11

Zane came to the bar to drink alone and to sulk, which was exactly what he was doing—until she stumbled into his life.

Literally, the girl nearly tripped over a stool.

"Whoops," she giggled, catching herself on his arm. Blinking up at him, her green eyes were wide, unfocused, and very drunk. "Whoa. You're, like… really big."

"…Thanks?"

"No, no, like seriously," she emphasized, gripping his bicep like it was a stress ball. "You're a biiiiig bear."

Zane sighed, glancing at his half-finished drink. So much for brooding in peace.

"Okay, Red, how many drinks are we talking here?"

She swayed slightly but grinned. "Not that many. Just… three?" She held up four fingers then got lost staring at them.

"Right." He smirked, his gaze shifting past her. A group of girls sat a few feet away, barely containing their laughter as they peeked over their drinks. Ah. This was a dare.

That explained a lot.

"So you came here for something right?" he asked, amused.

Her eyes narrowed dramatically. "How did you know? Are you a psychic?"

"Not …..exactly."

She giggled, placing a hand on his chest—then immediately got distracted and started poking. "Damn," she muttered. "Are you wearing armor?"

"…No."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

She pursed her lips, looking skeptical. Then, suddenly straightening, she tossed her hair over her shoulder in what was probably meant to be sexy—but the force of it sent her stumbling sideways. Zane caught her before she face-planted into his lap.

"Oh no," she whispered, gripping his arm. "I just….. seduced myself."

He chuckled. "That's quite impressive."

She beamed. "You think I'm impressive?"

"I think you're something."

She leaned closer, her expression suddenly serious. "Listen,. uhhh…" She paused, trying to recall something she never actually asked.

"Zane."

"Zane, right. So you might never have guessed this, but I'm currently on a dare."

He bit back a smile. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she nodded gravely. "By my evil friends." She gestured vaguely at the group behind her, nearly smacking a waitress in the face. "They… they challenged me."

"Challenged you to what?"

She pointed a dramatic finger at his face. "To seduce you."

He blinked. "Uh-huh."

"Mhm." She leaned in, eyes locking onto his with intense, drunken focus. "So tell me, Zane… Are you seduced yet?"

Zane considered her for a moment—her fiery red hair, her freckles, the way she was biting her lip in what was probably supposed to be sultry but mostly looked like she was trying not to sneeze.

She was a 10/10 no matter how you looked at it.

She was adorable.

But also so wasted.

He leaned in slightly, dropping his voice. "Honestly?"

She nodded eagerly.

"I think you should drink some water before you accidentally seduce someone less honorable."

Her lips parted slightly, her gaze flickering between his eyes and his mouth.

Then she groaned, collapsing onto his arm. "Ughhh, that was so hotttt. Damn it."

He laughed. "Go tell your friends you did your job, Red. You win the dare."

She perked up. "I do?"

"Yep."

"But you have to give me your number. If not, they'll never believe me."

Zane sighed. Thankfully, he'd gotten a phone during his short stay here, so he actually had a number.

She gasped in delight as she typed it in, then immediately turned on her heel, marching—well, stumbling—back to her friends, arms raised in victory. "I did it, bitches!"

They all cheered for her drunken triumph, but Zane noticed something odd.

The group of girls… they all seemed a bit older than her. If he had to guess, they were probably in their mid-twenties, while she looked around 18 or 19 at most. That, and the level of drunkenness—her friends seemed relatively sober, maybe just a little buzzed, yet they kept drowning her in drinks.

Still, maybe she was a younger sister to one of them? Maybe they were just trying to get her to loosen up? Either way, she didn't look to be in any immediate danger.

Shaking his head, he finished his drink with a single gulp.

"Can I get another one, please?"

He was already out of his bad mood thanks to her, so he didn't really need another but something felt a little off here and so he stayed to make sure the girl was going to be okay.

He watched as the girls continued having fun, the girl who he was just realizing never gave him her name was still giving him stares from across her table.

He let his mind wander to a few interesting scenarios like what any normal sexually active male would do but his thoughts were cut off when a girl from their table stood up and went outside to take a call, 

The moment she got out the door, she put her phone down.

Fake call? Well that was fishy but still he didn't try to jump into conclusions.

Maybe she just needed fresh air, or to fart or something...

Soon a sketchy looking guy approached her, he observed as they spoke, occasionally they would point in the direction of the table they sat on, in the direction of the drunk girl.

She nodded as he took over the conversation pointing in a direction far from the bar, into an alley were more groups of guys gathered.

All dressed like the man, wearing hoodies with their heads pointed to the ground, none of their faces were visible

Zane stomach dropped as he started seeing the bigger picture.

They parted soon after and the girl went back into the bar, she gave a few signals to the other girls from behind the drunk girl before sitting down.

It was barely 5 minutes after that they all stood up, leaving the bar.

Zane's eyes narrowed.

A narrative slowly formed in his mind.

It was obvious for some reason the girls had gotten the attractive redhead drunk to be toyed with by those men.

He didn't consider himself a very righteous individual but still, selling out your friend to be raped....seemed a bit much for a group of young women, they didn't look like they desperately needed the cash so just what was their gain? 

What would make them risk getting arrested and jailed for life?

Or was it just pure jealousy and hatred…. but they themselves weren't too bad in terms of attractiveness not her level but still solid 7's and 8's

They had gotten a fair distance away by now so it shouldn't be obvious if he trails them.

He got up and left, he wasn't sure this was in the jurisdiction of a shadow hunter but he was first and foremost a human being and a soldier.